Sausage Stuffed Mushroom

I wanted to use the sausages I had at home and so I thought of making stuffed mushrooms as I was really bored of eating hot dogs Hollywood and Highland style. However stuffed you are, you cannot miss the hot dog stand at Hollywood and Highland. The lady sells them on the streets for $4 with some grilled onions and peppers. I am a big fan of that and so I tried replicating it at home, it was good but it was missing the "grease" :-)
So when it's my husband's turn to cook (which comes once in 2 months), he takes the easy route and makes the HH Hot Dog (or Pasta). He really puts loads of efforts in making it (even if he can cook in half the time and effort :-P). Coming back to the topic of stuffed mushrooms, I really wanted to try them as I had seen a very similar recipe on foodnetwork.com (by Rachael Ray). I had seen the ingredients in it but when I really wanted to make it, I never found the recipe :(. So I just winged it and it turned out really yummy.

Ingredients: 
Mushrooms (normal sized) - 1 pack
Herb Flavor Sausage - 1
Onions, finely chopped - 1 (medium)
Bell Peppers, finely chopped - 1/2
Garlic, minced - 2 pods
Cream Cheese - 3tbspn
Basil - 7-8 leaves
Cheese for Garnish - 2tbspn
Egg yolk - 1

Procedure: 

1. Wash and clean the mushrooms and remove the stem and chop them fine.
2. Sautee the mushrooms (not the stems) with their heads up so that the water is drained out. Switch off the heat and let them be in the pan for 3-6 mins so that all water from mushrooms is drained.
3. Now sautee the finely chopped onions, mushroom stems, garlic and bell peppers till they are cooked (8-10mins)
4. In the mean time, pre-heat the oven at 325 degrees. Remove the casing off the sausage and separate the meat. Cook this meat with the onions for another 3-4 mins.
5. Let this mixture cool.
6. Now mix egg yolk and cream cheese and then add the cooked mixture and mix well. 
7. Fill the mushrooms with the mixture and bake for 12-15mins on 325 degrees.

Variations: 
For vegetarians, it can be converted into a vegetarian dish by adding paneer/cottage cheese with some Parmesan cheese instead of the sausage.


Conclusion:

I served this with Alfred-Pesto Pasta. Every single bite of it was delicious. It is very heavy and filling so this recipe would hold 3-4 servings as a side dish. This is a very good appetizer for potlucks and game nights.

Butter Paneer Naanizza / Indian Style Pizza

I usually try to make things out of what I have in the inventory and/or what is perishable. So I had half of store-bought Paneer Packet left and some Naans. I remembered the Butter Paneer Pizza I had in San Jose when I went for a very good friend's Birthday Party. We had surprised her by visiting her all the way from Los Angeles.
Her Fiancee had organized the Birthday Party for her and had ordered Butter Paneer Pizza. It was sooo good that it got over in a few minutes.
So I thought I would try to make something similar with the ingredients I had.

Ingredients (for 4 people):
Paneer, pea sized cubes - 2 cups
Green Bell Peppers, 2" sliced - 1
Onions, sliced - 1
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1tspn (Optional)
Tandoori masala - 2Tbspn
Chicken Curry Powder - 1Tbspn
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tspn
Kasuri Methi - 1tspn (Optional)
Butter - 2Tbspn
Ketchup - 6-7 tbspn
Naan - 6
Mozzarella Cheese, shredded - 3 cups

Procedure: 

1. Pre-heat oven on 350 degrees.
2. Add Butter to pan and saute onions, bell peppers and ginger garlic paste for 2mins (Do not cook it). Then add Paneer and other ingredients and sautee for another 2mins. 
3. Spread ketchup on the Naan and distribute the mixture on the Naan evenly and sprinkle cheese on top
4. Now place the Naans in the oven for 8-12mins or till cheese has melted.

Variations: 
You can add chicken instead of Paneer. In that case, use cooked chicken breasts for best results.

Conclusion:

I was astonished with the results. They were yummy and were made in 20mins only.

Almond Torte

Almond torte is what I tasted at the Farmer's market in LA and loved it. So the baker in me wanted to bake it but was not sure how. So I referred to this site which had detailed instructions as well. So I tried making it twice and was kind of successful the third time (but I still need practice). Now you must be wondering what went wrong twice before!!!

First time, I ground the blanched almonds with sugar and then ground the sugar in the same container(1st mistake, no grease must be added to egg whites). Then I started beating the egg whites with an immersion blender (2nd mistake) and then added the ground sugar to it. So the egg whites never formed peaks. Experiment #1 failed terribly :-(
To improvise my mistake #2, I used an Indian style blender (3rd mistake) with a whip attachment and it failed again :-(. Thank god the eggs are not expensive :-) So my experiment failed twice and I was wondering what I did wrong.
I did it right the third time and whipped the eggs perfectly fine. I realized my mistake as I spoke to my sister-in-law who lives in North Carolina. We always discuss food and recipes as our husbands are total foodies. She pointed out that egg can beaten well with a stand mixer. Then I went to Target to buy a stand mixer for just $7 :-)


Ingredients: 
Room temperature Egg Whites - 3
Blanched Almonds - 1 cup + 1tbspn
Sugar - 1/3 cup + 1tspn
Lemon Juice - 2-3 drops
Salt - 1 pinch
Stand Mixer

Procedure: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a smaller than 8" pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Now sprinkle 1tbspn sliced almonds on it.
2. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks when cold and keep them out of refrigerator for at least 30mins. 
3. Now grind the blanched almonds with 1/3 cup sugar (I ground them in 2 batches for fineness) and keep it aside. Make sure you don't over grind the mixture else you will end up getting almond butter.
4. Now add lemon juice and salt to the egg whites and beat them with a hand mixer (do not use immersion blender. I made that mistake)
5. It will take few minutes for the soft peaks to form. Then add 1tspn sugar and beat for another 30secs or till stiff peaks form.
6. Fold the almond sugar mixture in the egg whites and pour it in the baking pan. Bake it for 45mins or till a knife comes out clean when inserted.

Variations: 
Like the others, you can add almond flavor but I didn't have it handy and also because I like natural flavors, I didn't add it. You can use 3/4tspn for strong almond flavor.

Conclusion:
Full of protein and 'Good' fats dessert is ready! It really tastes yummy although it could have been much better in texture (risen a little more).
It is good for health freaks (like my Hubby), foodie (again like my Hubby) and wannabe brainy (It's Me this time) ;-)

Shrimp Jambalaya

I am writing this as I am making the shrimp Jambalaya. This dish came to my mind thinking of the leftovers I had at home and I had marinated Cajun Chicken which was lying in the fridge for tonight's dinner. So to accompany the Cajun Chicken, I thought of making Shrimp Jambalaya (as I had shrimp in the freezer and no sausage or boneless chicken).
We eat this dish very often at The Farmer's Market. The name of the stall is The Gumbo Pot. First of all, I never knew what the difference in Jambalaya and Gumbo was. So I googled and found out that both the dishes belong to New Orleans (Southern Amrica) and both are spicy. The difference is with rice and without. Jambalaya has rice (lot of it!) and Gumbo doesn't! Jambalaya is a little thick, but Gumbo is soup-like with Oakra in it to give it a nice texture (although I do not like slimy Oakra).

Ingredients: 
Onion, chopped - 1/2
Tomato, chopped - 1/2
Bell Pepper, chopped - 1/2
Garlic - 2pods
Cayenne - 1/2tspn
Cajun Spice - 2 tspn
Oregano - 1/2tspn
Parsley Flakes - 1/4 tspn
Rice - 1/3 cup
Chicken Broth - 2 cups
Shrimp, peeled and deveined - 2 cups
Oil
Salt to taste

Procedure: 

1. Heat some oil in a pot and saute onions, bell peppers and garlic for 4-5mins.
2. Now add all other ingredients except for chicken broth and shrimp.
3. Saute for another 2mins and add chicken broth to it and cook it (with lid on) for 35-40mins or till rice is cooked and desired consistency is achieved, on low heat.
4. Now add some salt and shrimp and cook it for 2 mins more. South American flavors are lingering in my kitchen!

Variations: 
You can vary Jambalaya as you want. Add some chicken pieces to it, throw in some sausages and other veggies. It will still taste GREAT!


Conclusion:
I cooked it but had it the day after. The flavors had soaked in well. We relished it with Grilled Cajun Chicken....yummy!

Indian Cupcakes / Sheera / Sooji ka Halwa

We were planning to visit my husband's cousin in San Diego, CA and wanted to make something for her. I had prepared Masala Dosa Batter and chutney and was going to make the sabzi (potato curry) at her place. To make it a complete meal, I wanted to take some sweet dish and I could think of 2 types of sheera: One is Ravyacha Sheera/ Sooji ka Halwa (Sapat - that's what the konkanis call it) and second was Pithacha Sheera/Aatte ka Halwa, which my mother used to make with loads of love and ghee. I ended up making Ravyacha Sheera/Sooji Ka Halwa  as I wanted to use the banana I had and Pithacha sheera would have been an experiment ( I have never made it before but I have seen my mother make it) on her and her family which comprises of herself, her husband and a cute lil dog (Sammy).

The best part of our short visit to San Diego was the Gourmet Food Truck Festival at Del Mar. It had 30-35 gourmet food trucks - Right from Naan-Stop to 'Cupcake Wars' Winner Corner Cupcakes. There were huge lines for every food truck but we still managed to get some awesome food without a loooong wait. We had some attractive Potato Tornadoes which made people stop and ask us what exactly it was(that is what even I did). We also did some crazy photo session as if I was drowning in beer glass.

Potato Tornadoes (Cajun Style held by Ram and I am holding the Sweet Potato Style)  were the 

head-turners

HEEEEELP!!! I am drowning (read enjoying) in a glass full of beer!

Ingredients: 
Rava/Sooji/Semolina - 1 cup
Ghee/Indian Butter - 5tbspn
Milk - 1 cup
Water - 1cup
Sugar - 3/4cups
Cardamom/Elaichi, Powdered- 4 pods
Cashews, chopped - 1/3 cup
Raisins - 1 Tbspn
Ripe Banana - 1

Procedure: 

1. In a pan, roast the rava/sooji, cashews and raisins for 3-5mins on medium heat, stirring constantly. Make sure you don't over-roast it and make it brown.
2. At the same time, boil the water and milk together on med heat.
3. Now slowly pour the boiling water+milk mixture over the roasted rava stirring it simultaneously. Make sure no lumps are formed.
4. Now add the sugar, mashed ripe banana and the ghee and mix it well and shut it with the lid. Let it cook for 4-5mins on med-low heat.
5. Lastly, add the elaichi powder and mix it and serve warm or cold.

Variations: 
Remember that the Rava : (Milk+Water) proportion has to be 1:2. So you can vary it to make more water less milk or vice versa (I prefer it more milk and less water).
Also, you can roast cashews and raisins separately in butter and then add it to sheera after step # 3.

Conclusion:

It was very yummy, low in sugar (as everyone prefers less sugar now a days) and super moist Sheera. Even Sammy enjoyed a small morsel :).

Cajun Style Grilled Salmon/Blackened Salmon with Seasoned Grilled Vegetables

I love it when the grocery store near my house has some discounts/sale going on on herbs and spices. On one of such occasions, I bought Cajun Spice to try out Cajun Shrimp.
Now a days Husband dearest has become 'Carb Conscious' and so wants to eat less of Carbs and more of the proteins. Salmon has zero carbs and higher levels of Omega-3 fats (considered as good fat). So we eat a lot of seafood or meat with less carbs and starch & nuts like walnut, almond, hazelnut etc.

Ingredients: 
Salmon - 4 fillets


For Marinade
Cajun Spice - 3Tbspn
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tspn
Garlic, minced - 3 cloves
Olive Oil - 1 Tbspn
Water - 2Tbspn
Salt

Grilled Vegetable with Stir Fry Sauce
Broccoli florets - 2 cups
Bell Peppers, 1" cubes - 2 cups
Mushroom - 1cup
Garlic, minced - 1tspn
Ginger, finely chopped - 1tspn
Ketchup - 1Tbspn
Marsala Wine (Optional) - 2Tbspn
Soy - 1Tbspn
Red Chilli Flakes - 2Tbspn
Salt & Pepper

Procedure: 
Mix all the ingredients for marinade and coat the salmon fillet with it and keep aside. Now mix all the ingredients for Vegetable stir fry and put it on the grill. Once they are grilled, put the salmon fillets on the grill and grill for 8-10 mins on each side or till the salmon is cooked.
Serve the salmon with the grilled vegetables stir fry and / or rice.


Variations: 
This dish can be varied as per the taste else it is just too good! Try the Shrimp Jambalaya with it, if you think this is not enough!


Conclusion:
Low Carb diet was devoured in minutes.

Serves: 2 - 3
Total Time - 30 mins

Paneer Tikka Panini

Cafe Coffee Day was the all time hang out place for me and my friends. I loved the Tropical Iceberg there. I remember having this Paneer Tikka Panini there and OMG, it was very yummy. But I did not have enough motivation and a kitchen to try it out (I used to live in a hostel in Navi Mumbai where I had an electric hot plate to warm milk and make khichdi). I still remember the taste of that panini and I had everything handy, so I decided to try it out on a Tuesday morning (7am) for my lunch box.

Ingredients: 
For Stuffing
Paneer/Cottage Cheese, small cubes - 1 cup
Bell Peppers, 1" cubed - 1 cup
Onions, 1" cubed - 1 cup
Tandoori Masala - 2 Tbspn
Red Chilli Powder - 1tspn
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1/3 tspn
Coriander Powder - 1 tspn
Yogurt - 1 Tbspn
Salt

For Panini
Bread Slices - 4
Mint Chutney (optional)
Butter to spread on the bread
Cheese, grated - 1 cup (I used 4 cheese blend as it was handy)


Procedure: 
Mix all the ingredients for stuffing and keep aside. Now spread some mint chutney on the bread slices on one side and butter on the other. Heat a pan and add the stuffing mixture to it. Cook it for 5-8mins or till paneer is tender and onions and bell peppers are crisp. Evenly distribute this stuffing to the bread slices with butter side being out and mint chutney on the inside. Now sprinkle some cheese on the stuffing and grill the sandwich till the bread turns golden brown.
Serve this with some ketchup or mint chutney.

Serves - 1 person


Variations: 
Make it a kids favorite by using less masalas and adding more cheese to it. They would definitely love it!

Conclusion:
It tasted just like the Cafe Coffee Day's Paneer Tikka Panini. How I wish I could pay a visit to India to see my Family and friends and hang out at CCD :)

Intense Chocolate Truffle Cake (Gluten Free)

It's been a while I have tried my hand at baking as I don't get many opportunities and time to bake. This weekend I had some time on hand and it was a friend's birthday who has twin babies (4 months old). So I thought of celebrating her birthday at (her) home by taking some food and baking a cake for her. I had to make a decadent chocolate truffle cake knowing that she would like Sugarless cake.
I always try to substitute things I have at home instead of buying something just for the recipe as it saves me time and $$. So I decided to use 4 types of chocolates (which I had at home) - semi-sweet, 60% dark, milk and white chocolate - and it turned out yummilicious! This cake/truffle was a good contender for restaurant style dessert for which I pay $$$. I hope you try making it and love it just like my friend and her family did (couldn't feed the twins as they are very young :( ).

Note: Please use a good quality chocolate for a great experience and restaurant style taste. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients (for 6-8 servings):
For Truffle 
Butter - 1/2 cup
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips - 1cup
60% Dark Chocolate Chips - 2/3cup
Large Eggs, chilled - 4

For Ganache
Heavy Cream - 1/4cup
Any Chocolate Chips - 1/2 cup (I used Dark and Milk)
Corn Syrup - 1Tbspn (This is used for getting a glaze to the ganache, so it is optional)

Garnish:
Milk Chocolate Bar, for curls - 1
White Chocolate Bar, for shaves - 1


Procedure: 

1. Melt the chocolate chips and butter (Truffle ingredients) on a double boiler till they are smooth. Let it sit aside and cool.
2. In the mean time, pre-heat the oven on 350 degrees and then whip the eggs on medium speed for 5-7mins.
3. Now fold the whipped egg (1/4th portion at a time) in the chocolate mixture and mix till it just assimilates.
4. Now grease a cake pan and line it with parchment paper (optional). Pour the batter in the greased pan
5. Prepare a water bath for the cake by filling a large pan (larger than the one used for cake) with hot water (hot tap water can be used) and then placing the cake pan in the water bath. Make sure the water is half way up the sides of the pan.
6. Bake it for 50mins or till the cake is done. When it is done, cool it on a rack (do not remove it from the pan) and then wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight. The next day (or after 7-8 hour) remove the cake from the pan, dip the pan in warm water halfway up the sides and then run a knife around the inside of the pan and then invert it on a plate.
7. Prepare the ganache the next day. Boil the heavy cream and then melt the chocolate chips in it (heat it if need be) till they are smooth. Add the corn syrup and mix well. When the ganache is slightly warm, pour it over the cake to make it look like it is oozing out or you can use an offset spatula to make it look nice and clean.
8. Now use a peeler to make some curls out of the chilled chocolate bar and grate some white chocolate bar over the cake. Play around with the decoration and have fun!

Ganache Poured Over the Chocolate Truffle

The end result. Just Love the glaze over the ganache!

Variations: 
You can use sugar free chocolate bars to make sugar free truffle.
Also, if you don't find chocolate chips, don't get disappointed, you can use chocolate bars and chop them or use a peeler to make curls and use them instead.


Conclusion:
A very decadent and rich chocolate truffle is ready to be devoured :). Dark chocolate contains a large number of anti-oxidants which protects from aging. Also, the eggs are a good supplement of protein. So enjoy the dessert you just made.

Orange Chicken Salad - Revealing Secrets

An Irish proverb says "A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book" but I would correct it to "A good laugh, a healthy diet, a long walk and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book." We need not keep on worrying about our health all the time because that is more dangerous than eating unhealthy food. One must enjoy the good health they have rather than worrying about it.



























Eating right and eating at the right time is the trick. 
You need not eat salad everyday to be healthy, you need not starve to reduce your weight, you need not eat bad tasting food to be on diet! All you need to do is, eat right and eat at the right time.


Know what you eat.
To eat right, you must know what you are eating. So wear your apron and get started in the kitchen. You can start with small things at a time. Even if you eat out, make sure you know the ingredients and opt for healthy choices like wheat bread instead of white, grilled chicken instead of fried chicken etc.


Refresh your mind and body.
Exercise refreshes your mind and body. Just 30-60mins of exercise/day is enough for a healthy mind and body. It doesn't matter if you walk to the grocery store or you run on a treadmill in the gym. The important thing is to exercise and be happy. 


Don't Be a Couch Potato.
Go out, make some friends, eat out, drink some beer, go for a comedy show but remember to exercise and stay worry-free. 

Ingredients (1 serving): 
Raw Items:
Spring Mix - 1/8 LB
Red and Orange Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup
Garbanzo Beans, canned/cooked - 1/2 cup
Mandarines - 1/2 cup
Toasted Sesame - 1/2 tspn
Chicken Tenders - 1/2LB

Dressing:
Soy Sauce - 3Tbspn
Lime Juice - 2Tbspn
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 2Tbspn
Brown Sugar - 2tbspn
Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tspn
Salt - a pinch full
Garlic, minced - 1tspn
Oil/Butter for frying garlic
Orange Juice - 1/8 cup

Procedure:

1. Mix all the ingredients for dressing other than garlic and oil for frying.
2. Now, heat a small pan and add oil to it. Fry garlic till they are golden and add to the above mentioned dressing mixture.
3. Now grill/broil/cook the chicken tender with some salt and pepper 
4. Add 1/2 of the prepared dressing to the chicken and let it sit aside.
5. Add orange juice to the remaining 1/2 of the dressing and mix it well.
6. Now mix all the raw ingredients and put the orange dressing on top of it. Add the chicken on top and garnish with some toasted sesame.

Variations: 
It can be made veg by taking off the chicken and adding Tofu/Soy chunks.

Conclusion:
Today I got up early so that I can pack this for lunch and blog about it in the spare time. I am going for Dodger's baseball game tonight (just to hog on the garlic fries and chug some beer as I do not understand the game :) ). So I am compensating for all the junk food I will be eating tonight with the salad.

Stuffed Chicken Marsala

I think of Olive Garden whenever I think of Chicken Marsala. I wanted to try making something new and different - I was bored with Indian cooking and eating- and Olive Garden is pretty far from my place. Guess what?!? I decided to make Chicken Marsala at home and got Marsala Wine and chicken breasts from Farmer's Market (which is my favorite place - If you have a Farmer's market nearby, I would recommend you to buy fresh produce from there to help the local farmers and to eat better quality food).
After I came home from Farmer's Market, I asked my husband, "What is the stuffing made up of in Stuffed Chicken Marsala at Olive Garden (because he orders that every time)?" He said, "Cheese, Breadcrumbs and some seasoning." I decided to make Stuffed Chicken Marsala instead of just Chicken Marsala! It takes a long time for the marsala wine to cook, but its worth all the effort at a very low cost and then writing (boasting) about it on your blog!! :D

Cooked Stuffed Chicken

Stuffed Chicken Marsala Ready to be Devoured

Ingredients: 
Stuffing - 
Parmesan Cheese - 1/2 cup
Shredded Pepper Jack - 1/2 cup
Any other Cheese (I used 4 cheese blend) - 1/3 cup
Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup
Sour Cream/Yogurt - 3 Tbspn
Cream Cheese - 2Tbspn
Sal - as per taste
Pepper - 1/2tspn
Garlic - 1Tbspn
Oregano/Italian Herb - 1/2 tspn
Cajun Seasoning (Optional) - 1tspn
Crushed Red Pepper - 1tspn


Chicken:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast - 3 pieces, halved and pounded
All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup
Sal & Pepper - to season the flour
Butter - 2tbspn

Sauce:
Marsala Wine - 2.5 cups
Heavy Cream - 1/2 pint or 8ounces
Mushrooms (I used  Portabella), sliced - 4cups
 Onion - 1/2 cup, finley chopped
Garlic - 1/2 tspn, finely chopped

Procedure: 

1. Mix all the ingredients for the stuffing and keep it aside.
2. Mix all purpose flour with salt and pepper and keep it aside.
3.  Take a heated pot and add some butter and onions and garlic to it.
4. After onions turn translucent, add sliced mushrooms to it. Now add the marsala wine and let it boil for 15-20mins on medium heat. 
5. In the meantime, take pounded chicken pieces and evenly distribute the stuffing on one piece and put another halved chicken piece on top of it.

Stuffed Raw Chicken

1. Put some butter on a heated pan and add some garlic to it.
2. Now coat the stuffed chicken pieces on both sides with the flour mixture and place it on the heated pan. Cook it on both sides till it turns light brown, adding butter whenever needed.
3. Now place the chicken pieces in a pre-heated oven for 10-15mins at 250degrees F.
4. By now the marsala wine must have been reduced to half of what it was. Now add the heavy cream and let it all boil on low heat till all the sauce is reduced to half/desired consistency.
5. When the desired consistency is achieved and chicken is done in the oven, pour the sauce and mushrooms over the chicken pieces and it serve it with some baguette and wine. You can also serve mashed potatoes with it.

Variations: 
If you want to use a non-alcoholic substitute for marsala, I would suggest using grape juice, although I am not too sure if it will taste the same. You can also substitute the heavy cream with half n half in case you don't have it handy.


Conclusion:
Happy tummy and happy wallet and not to mention happy husband :)

Thai Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice

This was an accompaniment to the Spicy Chicken Satay I made last week. It is a very tropical fried rice with sweet n' sour taste. The taste of pineapple is the dominant of all.

Ingredients:
Cooked Rice - 2 cups
Pineapple, 1/2inch pieces - 1 cup
Fish sauce - 1Tbspn
Shrimp, healess & deveined - 12-15
Bell Peppers - 1/2 cup
Shrimp Paste - 1/2 tspn (Optional)
Garlic cloves, finely chopped - 3
Soy Sauce - 1 Tbspn
Chilli Sauce - 3tspn
Chilli Powder - 1 tspn
Green Chillies, slit - 2
Sugar - 1 tspn
Salt to taste
Oil

Procedure: 

1. Heat some oil in a pan and add chopped garlic, slit green chillies and sautee it for 1 min. Then add bell peppers, shrimp paste and pineapple and sautee for 2-3mins. (This stinks a lot)
2. Now add fish sauce, soy sauce, chilli sauce, chilli powder and rice to the pan and mix it well. After mixing it well, add the srimps and salt and cook for 3-5mins, or till the shrimps are cooked.
3. Garnish with some cilantro and serve when hot.

Variations: 
Do not use fish oil and shrimp paste if you cannot bear the smell of it. It really smells a lot but definitely enhances the taste of the fried rice.

Conclusion:
It was a spicy fried rice with some sweet pineapple taste. Something new for the taste buds.

Spicy Chicken Satay

LA has plenty of Asians and Asian restaurants. I love Thai food (who doesn't, duh!?) and I love cooking so I thought I will try making some Thai curry/Fried Rice/Chicken Satay. Yessss... Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce and Thai Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice, it is!

Ingredients: 
Chicken thigh pieces (Bonelesss) - 1.5LB
Yogurt - 1tspn
Ginger root - 1 inch
Turmeric - 1/2 tspn
Curry Powder - 1.5tspn
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tspn
Lemon Grass - 1 stalk
Fish Sauce - 1tspn
Garlic - 2 cloves
Chilli Pwder - 1 tspn
Soy Sauce - 1tspn
Salt to taste
Bamboo Skewers - 8-10


Procedure: 
Grind all the ingredients (other than chicken and bamboo skewers) together and marinate the chicken for atleast 2 hours. Now soak the skewers in water for 1 hour so that they don't burn.
Now thread the marinated chicken pieces on the skewers and grill it for 4-7 minutes each side. Use some oil to baste it.
Serve it with Spicy Peanut Sauce.


Variations: 
You can add coconut milk instead of the yogurt.


Conclusion:
Yummy chicken satay - just like the ones you get at Thai restaurants.

Indonesian Chicken Rendang Curry

So if you have read the My Birthday Celebration post, you will know what I am talking about in the next few lines.

I wanted to thank my hubby for making my birthday a fabulous one and so I thought of making an Indonesian style chicken curry and chicken satay with peanut sauce! Near our apartment complex, we have a mall named 'The Grove' and a Farmer's Market next to it. The Farmer's market has variety of food booths, right from Brazilian BBQ to Japanese Sushis and South-East Asian Curries. We are frequent visitors to the Farmer's Market for buying produce or poultry or the hand-made ice cream... yummm!

Few weeks ago, we visited the Banana Leaf booth for Malaysian/Indonesian/Indian cuisine. It smelled very good and tasted better. I took the chicken rendang curry and the taste of that curry still lingers in my mouth. It has a special taste and aroma of coconut and star anise. They are so dominant, that it won't taste the same without those ingredients. So I decided to try making it by looking up few recipes online for beef rendang. People in Indonesia usually eat this curry with beef but because I do not eat beef, I used chicken.

Ingredients: 
Chicken - 2LB
Desiccated coconut - 1 cup
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 3
Cinnamon - 2 inch long
Star Anise - 3 flowers
Lemon Grass - 2, Pounded
Coconut Milk/Cream - 1.5 cups / 1cup
Tamarind Pulp - 2 tspn
Kaffir Lime Leaves - 6 (I used Lemon zest instead)
Sugar - 1tspn
Salt to taste

Paste:
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Ginger - 2 inch
Garlic - 6 cloves
Lemon Grass - 1 stalk
Frozen Coconut - 2 tbspn
Dry Red Chillies - 10-12

Procedure: 

1. Roast the desiccated coconut till it is brownish in color.
2. Now add some oil to another pan and add the cloves, star anise, and cinnamon and fry for 30-60 secs. Now add the paste and stir-fry for 4-5mins (till oil starts separating).
3. Add the chopped and pounded lemon grass and chicken and stir-fry till meat is rarely cooked.
4. Now add the coconut milk and sugar and let it cook for 10mins. Once the curry starts getting thicker, add 1/2 cup of water and kaffir lime leaves, desiccated coconut and tamarind juice. 
5. Now let the chicken cook in the curry for 1.5 hours and let the curry dry up/thicken so that you get the right consistency. 
6. Serve the curry with naan/roti kanai or steaming hot rice.

Variations: 
If you do not find star anise in the market, you can use fennel seeds although there would be a difference in taste.

Conclusion:
the chicken rendang curry was a big hit and we ate it for 2 days. It just got better with time.

My Birthday Celebrations

June- my birthday month. My in-laws and the husband gave me loads of surprises on my birthday. They all made my day by getting a cake to cut at midnight, a balloon, some roses and chocolates. Then they planned to take me out to see the sunset and a beach-side dinner at Redondo Beach.

This was the birthday cake cut at midnight on June 7th. It was a jumbo Chocolate Cupcake with chocolate mousse.

That was not all! My husband threw a surprise birthday party for me by inviting all our friends for a Hawaiian BBQ party over the weekend. The theme was Hawaiian and almost all of them turned up in a Hawaiian attire. He had ordered for Biryani, got some Veggie Patties and Sausages, Pineapples to grill etc. We played flip cups and the girl's team won!

This was the Tropical Fruit Cheesecake for the Hawaiian themed birthday party.

The Hawaiian people!

While playing flip cups in which you gulp the beer from the cup and flip the cup. Once the cup is flipped, the next person from the same team will start. It is kind of a relay. The team whose last player flips the cup, wins! The boys were the losers! 

The Hawaiian Couple

Thanks to those who wished me on my birthday and who made it to the party and special thanks to my Husband - Ram, for throwing such a great party!

Shrimp Stir Fry

Every time I make shrimp I remember 'Bubba' from Forrest Gump. His love towards shrimp and how he spoke about them all the time. I remember that Bubba suggests the shrimping business and Forrest pursues the idea after Bubba's death.
The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company started as an idea between Bubba and Forrest during their war duty in Vietnam. There Bubba proposes the idea of starting a shrimping business and Forrest agress and promises to be his partner after the service is over. But Bubba dies in the war and Forrest is left alone to go into that business. Forrest then goes to plays in the All America Ping Pong team and after his tour, he earns $25,000 enough to buy a boat. He buys a boat and names it 'Jenny'. This is how he starts the shrimping business and Lt. Dan Taylor joins him as his mate on the boat.
It is a pretty nice movie and Tom Hanks has acted really well and so has 'Bubba.' I think pretty soon, I will be called 'Bubba.'

Ingredients: 
Uncooked Shrimp, deveined - 1 LB
Soy Sauce - 2 tbspn
Tomato Ketchup - 4 tbspn
Water- 5tbspn
Red Chilli Flakes - 1 tspn
Ginger Paste - 1/2 tspn
Garlic, Minced - 2 + 4 cloves
Honey - 2 tspn
Cornstarch - 2 tspn
Green Onions - 1/4 + 1/4 cup
Bell Peppers - 1 cup
Brocolli - 1 cup
Mushroom - 1/4 cup
Oil

Procedure: 

1. Mix all the sauces, water, honey, red chilli flakes, 2 garlic cloves, cornstarch and ginger paste and keep it aside.
2. Now heat a skillet on med-high heat and put a tbspn oil on it. Then add garlic and all the vegetables and green onions to it and cook it for 2 mins. Then add the sauce to it and cook for 3-4 mins or till the sauce begins to boil.
3. Now add the shrimp and cook till the shrimp is cooked.

Variations: 
You can make it vegetarian by substituting shrimp with Tofu or Paneer/Cottage Cheese.

Conclusion:
The 'Always-Available-At-Home' ingredients makes it unbelievably awesome stir fry.